Page 156 - EAA78.Newsletter.Archives.(February.2017-July.2021)

CHAPTER CHATTER, EAA Chapter 78 4

Brandywine Flight School expands fleet with
Law Suit Against Van’s Aircraft Dismissed taildraggers

As many of you may know, Van’s Aircraft and others were WEST CHESTER, PA - Brandywine Flight School has
named as defendants in a lawsuit related to a tragic RV-10 added two taildraggers; a Cessna 140A and Cessna 170A to
accident that occurred near the Oregon coast in May, 2014. its fleet of airplanes at Brandywine Airport.

With these new additions, the flight school will offer “classic
The NTSB investigated the accident and concluded that the flying” instruction to its array of aviation packages and rental
probable cause of the accident was: services, officials noted.

“A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation
because of a blocked fuel line that resulted from the
pilot’s improper maintenance practices and the pilot’s
subsequent failure to maintain adequate airspeed while
attempting a forced landing, which led to the airplane
exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and experiencing
an aerodynamic stall.”

NTSB Identification: WPR14FA218

The plaintiffs’ attorneys in this case initially chose to
publicize this suit extensively, along with the claim for very
high damages. We know that many of our customers and
others in the aviation community have been concerned
about the status of this suit for some time.

The crew here at Van’s would like to let everyone know that
this suit was dismissed. Van’s own investigation of the
accident concurred with the NTSB probable cause report.
The complaint against Van’s had no merit.
“It makes educational sense to offer primary flight training in
a tailwheel airplane. A student aviator, training in proper
Now and in the future Van’s is committed to providing our tailwheel techniques from the outset, will possess good
customers with the highest quality Kit designs and assembly directional control skills and rudder awareness,” says BFS
instructions available. Our entire staff strives to make our head pilot James Wawrznyiak.
designs the safest in the industry and we encourage our
customers to utilize our free builder assistance, vast internet
resources and the expertise of EAA Technical Counselors “We are very excited to add the two Cessna taildraggers to
and other experienced builders. our fleet. It is getting difficult to find a flight school where a
student or trained pilot can learn skills necessary to operate
a tailwheel aircraft to rent, let alone receive training,” added
The loss of life and injuries caused by this and too many Stephen Richards, CEO/owner of Brandywine Flight School.
other accidents are truly sad and unfortunate… and “There is a serious lack of flight schools offering ‘classic
preventable. Please build and fly safely. airplane instruction’ or ‘old school’ aviation where students
can learn.”

Van’s Aircraft, Inc. Brandywine Flight School is hangared across the gate, near
the main building, on the south side of the Brandywine
Airport. Plans are being developed to renovate the office
administration space to make instructor and student space
more technologically and learning accessible, officials noted.
The flight school’s fleet includes Cessna and Piper airplanes.